RACK TEAMS PLACE SECOND IN SWAC OUTDOOR CHAMPIONSHIPS
By GSU Sports Information
April 21, 2008
NEW ORLEANS, La. – After holding on to narrow leads over the first two days of the 2008 SWAC Outdoor Track & Field Championships, Grambling came up short in its attempt to capture both the men’s and women’s track titles as each left with second-place finishes at Tad Gormley Stadium.
The Lady Tigers came within two-and-a-half points of capturing the title as Jackson State walked away with the win by a score of 182.5 to 180. Despite the loss, GSU did have an individual accolade as Ashley Vaughn qualified for the NCAA Regional Meet with a time of 54.56 in the 400-meter dash.
As a unit, the women’s 4x400-meter relay team captured first with a run of 3:42.37 and second in the 4x100 (46.10). Individually, other top-three performers in the running events include Javonda Newbold (2nd-100-meter dash) and Grace Korir (3rd-5,000-meter run, 3rd-10,000-meter run).
The high jump tandem of Dara Burton and Bobbi Davis finished 1-2 in their event with jumps of 5-07.75 and 5-05.75, respectively. Davis also captured second in the triple jump as she finished with a length of 40-00.75.
Kendra Hammond and Rashira Bessard topped the shot put as they captured first and second, respectively. Hammond placed third in the discus while Bessard and Traci Reynolds wrapped up the hammer throw in second and third place.
In the heptathlon, Alexandra Afloari was the top finisher as she walked off with the gold after a score of 4,370.
On the men’s side, Prairie View A&M broke open a tight race for first on Monday as the Tigers finished a distant second.
Darius Lavalais qualified for next month’s NCAA Regional Meet with a third-place finish in the 400-meter dash (47.16). Brenton Flurry placed third in the 1,500 (4:00.23) and 10,000-meter runs (33:29.44) while fellow teammate Prinzton Carey also captured third in the 5,000 by finishing with a run of 16:12.97.
Edmund Joseph punched a ticket to the regionals with a second-place run of 14.28 in the 110-meter hurdles. Brian Ramos finished third in the 3,000-meter steeplechase (10:00.82) while the 4x100-meter relay team finished second after a run of 40.95.
Lavalais was the top GSU finisher in the high jump as he jumped 6-08 to place third while Jacquecar Robinson concluded the long jump in second (23-05.5). Travis Joseph wrapped up the jump events for the Tigers as he finished third in the triple jump (48-06).
Gionreicho Lynch led GSU in the discus as he threw a distance of 149-04 for a third-place finish. Kenneth Gerard, Jr. completed the hammer throw in second (157-06) while Terrance Brown (187-00) and Lynch (167-07) finished 1-3 in the javelin.